WASHINGTON - Leaders of the agency responsible for protecting consumers from faulty products said yesterday that Congress should increase their budget and power in the wake of huge recalls of lead-contaminated toys.
The testimony from Consumer Product Safety Commission officials came as
The company's chairman and chief executive, Robert A. Eckert, apologized for the recalls, saying they "should never have happened, especially at Mattel. Our standards were ignored and our rules were broken. We were let down and we let you down."
Mattel has fired several manufacturers and is beginning to inspect toys before, during and after paint applications, Eckert said.
One of the agency's commissioners said "we are all to blame" for a system that allowed children to be exposed to lead-tainted toys. That includes "those who stood by and quietly acquiesced while the commission was being reduced to a weakened regulator," said Thomas H. Moore, in the first of two days of hearings before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.
Moore thanked lawmakers for rejecting a Bush administration budget proposal that would have required cutting full-time staff by 19 people. He urged Congress to pass legislation that would give the agency better tools to protect consumers from product safety hazards.
"Our small agency has been ignored by the Congress and the public for way too long," said the acting chairman, Nancy A. Nord.